Chewing gum is a popular consumer product, because of its taste and the chewing sensation that it provides. However, conventional chewing gums, when spent, have a strong tendency to stick to surfaces such as carpets and sidewalks, and retain their stickiness for a considerable period of time. They are also non-biodegradable. Accordingly, conventional chewing gums, if disposed of improperly, can cause an unsightly litter problem that is difficult to remove. This has led to restrictions on the sale of conventional chewing gums in some countries.
It would therefore be desirable to provide a chewing gum which goes some way towards overcoming these problems, while at the same time maintaining good chewing properties and therefore acceptability to consumers.
WO 98/15189 of Warner Lambert Company discloses a process in which a blend of a protein component and a plasticizer component is heated under controlled shear conditions to form a plasticized proteinaceous material, which may be used for producing gums and confectionery compositions.